b'MICROBREWERIESHISTORIC TIES idea was to have a beer for everyone,Initially,therewassomehesitancy While Stevens had earlier worked in IT, henot just Natives, but blue-collar workingamong people outside the community had long brewed beer as a hobby and tookpeople on their way home from work, saysto come to the brewpub, but then came on the role of the companys master brewer.Leblanc. We wanted people to come herea surprising and unexpected catalyst for I was a home brewer for many years, hewhether they were French orMohawk.change: COVID. Believe it or not, COVID says. It was a big passion of mine.helped us get our name out there, Deer Craft beer remains a large draw for localsays. When everyone was in confinement, Stevens went on to develop an interestingtourism, and Kahnawake Brewing worksthey were able to purchase our cans with mix of brews, some of which reflect thecurbside pick-up and that really got the communitys history. The companys brewwith the Mohawk Council of Kahnaw:keball moving for us. We havent slowed Bridge, for instance, pays homage to theand Kahnawake Tourism to help promotedown since.regions steel workers, many of themthe region and the Indigenous commu-Mohawk, who built the nearby bridgesnity. Deer says the microbrewery actsThe future looks equally bright for the across the St. Lawrence River. Even theiras a gateway for people to come andcompany, and now the goal is to set an tap handles are old steel working tools.learnaboutKahnaw:keMohawkexample for other Indigenous entrepre-(The companys original name was BlackTerritorys history.neurs who want to create history within Bridge Brewing, but it was changed intheir own area of expertise. We hope that 2018 because of its similarity to anotherSupportingtheircommunityandwe inspire other Indigenous people to brewing company.)Indigenous businesses has been a strongbreak out and make some noise in their driver in the development of Kahnawakefavourite industry, Deersays. Most importantly, Kahnawake Brewing hasBrewing and remains a key part of the worked hard to develop craft beer with ancompanys mission. Every year we donateFor Kahnawake Brewing, that industry approachable and fun image, with brewsteadfastly remains craft beer, and there names like Beast, Hard Days Work andmore and more to organizations around usare more brews on the horizon. There is Arnold Schwarzenlager. They also openedto help Kahnawakeas well as [develop]no slowing down. We just gotta brew a local restaurant/pub located alongsidepartnerships with other local businesses,more beer, and make everybody happy, one of Montreals busier highways. TheStevens says.Leblanc says with a laugh.Kahnawake Brewing, which recently celebrated its five-year anniversary, is one of the first microbreweries on First Nations territory in Canada'